Wilford Rensselaer Holman

W.R. Holman was an entrepreneur, conservationist, and community leader. Born in 1884 in Sacramento, California, Holman moved to the coastal town of Pacific Grove with his family when he was four. His father, R.L. Holman, opened a dry goods store that had several locations before eventually being taken over by W.R. and becoming Holman's Department Store-the biggest store between San Francisco and Los Angeles for decades. The W.R. Holman Highway runs between Pacific Grove and Highway 1,...See more

W.R. Holman was an entrepreneur, conservationist, and community leader. Born in 1884 in Sacramento, California, Holman moved to the coastal town of Pacific Grove with his family when he was four. His father, R.L. Holman, opened a dry goods store that had several locations before eventually being taken over by W.R. and becoming Holman's Department Store-the biggest store between San Francisco and Los Angeles for decades. The W.R. Holman Highway runs between Pacific Grove and Highway 1, connecting Pacific Grove with the rest of the Peninsula-a feat Holman fought hard for in the 1920s. Holman and his wife, Zena, were avid conservationists, whose collections of Native American artifacts, as well as a vast collection of first edition books, were gifted to the State of California and are on display at the Pacific House Museum in Monterey, and the Zena Holman Research Library at Asilomar Conference Grounds. Holman lived a very full life, whose highlights can be found on the pages of this book. W.R. passed away at his home at ninety-seven years old. See less